The U.S. Drought Monitor depicts slight improvement in drought conditions across the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, mainly across the eastern Panhandles and Southwest Texas Panhandle. Exceptional (D4) drought conditions continue along a line from near Borger, TX northwestward toward Kenton,OK with mostly extreme (D3) drought conditions depicted across the rest of the Panhandles. Conditions have improved to severe (D2) drought in the Southwest Texas Panhandle and in central and eastern portions of the Oklahoma Panhandle. The latest drought monitor depicts improvement of conditions in southern Deaf Smith County to moderate (D1) drought. Alhough there have been dry spells this summer, periodic heavy rain events and increased humidity have kept the extremely hot and dry weather from setting in like the past few summers. This short-term relief to the drought has benefited farming and ranching operations across the Panhandles. Long-term drought impacts remain across the area, including low reservoir levels, drier than normal deep soil zones, and thinned grass stands on rangeland.